PTSD Recipes

PTSD Recipes
K

kolisha54

So many of us have contracted this crappy ailment somewhere along the way from "there" to "here:" I've been symptom-free for YEARS & now all-of-a-sudden: BAM!!!! BACK IT COMES!!

Just wondering - what's worked well for y'all when you are feeling a bad case of creepy-crawlies?
 
Letting myself get angry never sounds like it will work ahead of time, but then I do it and it works, every time.

Obviously you need to plan that one in advance so that you have something to do with the anger once you've got it. But I find it much easier to deal with anger than creepy-crawlies.

take care of yourself, kolisha.
 
I thought this topic was going to give me a special recipe for cooking steak on a barby ! :D

PTSD ? it's hard to get through some days, but now I am able to make an effort and distract myself in good ways, something I couldn't do before - which led to fantasies and acting out.
Now I go and work on my 4x4, make a point of talking to someone about anything, put on a good DVD or drag the burner out and cremate some beef !

Dave
 
A good steak and good DVD does help reduce the stress when things build up. I am confused about the PTSD...I asked my therapist if that was what I had and she told it was anxiety. I tried to explain to her that when I get very, very stressed (when I am in a crisis) all the feelings and memories I have identified over the years take over me. I have had this happen about three times over the last 11 years and consider myself lucky that after a few months of therapy and taking Paxil I feel better and start living again. Is this what you guys experience?

Thanks,
Jaay
 
I'll let you know when and if I figure out something that works.
 
Hmmmm. The difference between PTSD & anxiety???? PTSD certainly includes a general dread & non-specific fear of loss & control, but it also includes flashbacks & comes on due to specific events which "trigger" memories of the trauma to boil up to the surface at highly inconvenient times.

Sometimes the memory is a "narrative memory" where we remember the specifics of what happened to us - having the cord tied around the neck, the fist to the face, etc.

But sometimes the memory is a "body memory" where we end up acting like a crazed, panting, psycho or just go catatonic for a while because we are dissociating.

I don't know if you would like this film, but the movie version of "Mrs. Dalloway" has a brilliantly acted example of someone experiencing what was then called "shell shock."

PTSD differs from general anxiety in there having been a traumatic event(s) that specifically caused the altered behavior.

Hope this helps.

Once again, I would recommend reading anything written by Aphrodite Matsakis for a description.

Oh - and Dave: if I thought a charcoaled steak would help me get rid of this, I'd stop being a vegetarian IMMEDIATELY & forever!!! :D
 
I am in the middle of that horror. PTSD has teamed itself with PSM. Yes it's so hard to be a woman ! I have experienced body memory for the last 4 weeks and it got worse on the week end: crying fits, panick attacks, insomnia, nausea, fears of being murdered by my father and all that shit you know. No receipe apart from shaking under the duvet and speaking on the phone with two men really really nice (partners of survivors). I read all the nice mail I receive, make a point of being nasty and not reply, screw up everything, do the minimum in the house which is basically just making sure there is enough food in the fridge for basic survival. I am waiting for these horrible moments to go away. They will eventually.
pffffff ! :(
kolisha, can NY be closer to Paris so we can go to the same Starbuck have a coffee together !
Love you !
 
I love YOU, Caro!

Speaking of Starbucks... Am beginning to think that maybe it's time to try to stop drinking so much caffeine - it simply can't be too good for us while we are in this state of mind!

I am also going to try to overhaul my entire nutritional program - it couldn't hurt & it just might help...

There was probably a sub-conscous reason I entitled this thread "recipes..."

Anyway, Caro Dear, this stage WILL pass - until the "next time," of course. But the best we can do is wait it out & try not to hurt ourselves & others too badly while we are in the midst of it all.

Our dear sister PAS gave me some incredibly excellent advice - meditation was one of her best suggestions. I am going to try to start that right away too.

Hope you feel much much better very soon!
HUGS!
 
but it also includes flashbacks & comes on due to specific events which "trigger" memories of the trauma to boil up to the surface at highly inconvenient times.

Sometimes the memory is a "narrative memory" where we remember the specifics of what happened to us - having the cord tied around the neck, the fist to the face, etc.

But sometimes the memory is a "body memory" where we end up acting like a crazed, panting, psycho or just go catatonic for a while because we are dissociating.
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Dammit.. happened to me this morning...

Still trying to figure out who it was that hit me like i hit myself...

P
 
Originally posted by PAS:
but it also includes flashbacks & comes on due to specific events which "trigger" memories of the trauma to boil up to the surface at highly inconvenient times.

Sometimes the memory is a "narrative memory" where we remember the specifics of what happened to us - having the cord tied around the neck, the fist to the face, etc.

But sometimes the memory is a "body memory" where we end up acting like a crazed, panting, psycho or just go catatonic for a while because we are dissociating.
Click to expand...
Dammit.. happened to me this morning...

signed, crazed, catatonic, panting, psycho, self-hitting PAS.

Click to expand...
 
Speaking of Starbucks... Am beginning to think that maybe it's time to try to stop drinking so much caffeine - it simply can't be too good for us while we are in this state of mind!

I am also going to try to overhaul my entire nutritional program - it couldn't hurt & it just might help...

There was probably a sub-conscous reason I entitled this thread "recipes..."
Click to expand...
Yes Kolisha, the chemical and physical state of your body does make a difference. One thing that you can also try is to physically exhaust yourself through exercise. Quite often it's easier than meditating. Or try a combo of them, try to physically exhaust yourself, then meditate. I mean literally pysically exhausting yourself, not the kind that comes with depression.
 
I am going for a haircut tomorrow (feel like a new person !) and later for a long nice massage with an amazing person who has helped me so much to release all the emotions inside !
Strangely enough she was fully booked when she rang me back, only offering an appointment mid June and when she hung up, she got a cancellation call for tomorrow so I have my appointment ! Amazing hey !
Plus I have been asked to swap days at work with a colleague so now I can go to a survivors fun retreat in Brittany at the end of the month !
My guardian angel is doing magic ! In fact he must be my receipe against PTSD !
For now I am treating myself with a nice patisserie (seriously a NICE one !) and a cup of coffee (but yes I drink herbal too, I trying to slow down honest !).
To conclude this long and uniteresting message: I am treating myself nice to fight PTSD !!! :D
 
i TRY to separated the emotion from the thinking part of me. I find, for me, that "Thinking leads to emotion" & "Errors in my thinking (or my understanding) lead to negative emotions, that often support more errors in thinking. & so on.

So, I say to myself,...."Am I hungry?, Should I eat?" "Did I get enough sleep?" "Let me write down what I need to do today, this week". "what do I need help in doing?"
Attending to phyical needs, having structure & maintaining a routine seem to help me keep from getting overwhelmed. That may be part of my problem now. Oh well, I keep working on it.
 
when I get very, very stressed (when I am in a crisis) all the feelings and memories I have identified over the years take over me.
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I get this too - then some funny acting-out urges come over me.. ugh ugh.. its when the anxiety gets too much then it triggers the full blown acting out (for me its physical acting out not sexual so I start whapping myself, hurting myself, pulling my hair) its when the hitting/hurting starts and I'm in a catatonic state that I'm in full blown "PTSD"..

I try not to let it get to that point but it usually happens when I'm in a fight with my partner and he starts getting REALLY cruel.. I try to withstand his crap but sometimes I just go SNAP!!!!
 
Yes Kolisha, the chemical and physical state of your body does make a difference. One thing that you can also try is to physically exhaust yourself through exercise. Quite often it's easier than meditating. Or try a combo of them, try to physically exhaust yourself, then meditate. I mean literally pysically exhausting yourself, not the kind that comes with depression.
Click to expand...
I fully believe in this one - I keep my rollerblades at the ready at the front door when I'm overloaded.. have been known to go ripping out the front door and around the block a bazillion times.. after 45 minutes I"m dripping sweat and there's no way any kind of anxiety attack could get me then! We also have a weight bench in the basement - both C and I have been known to be found pumping iron when we are freaked. I have taken to intensive garden-digging too when I'm stressed.. who needs a roto-tiller??? :)

Also I have had to completely give up caffeine and almost completely give up sugar, eat a lot more fruits and veggies, less white flour. It sounds corny but more vitamins and more stable blood sugar also help my mood dramatically. Increasing your intake of fish/fish oils helps too, funny as it sounds. Coffee was just awful for me - I'm really sensitive to caffeien - it gave me a HUGE mood boost followed by a giant crash, and sugar the same thing.. a few hours after eating sugary foods or white bread I want to SLEEP!!! More veggies and fruit just makes me feel more awake, more stable, more intelligent. So - its not just for physical health that I'm trying to eat better - its really for mental health. Getting in better physical shape is just a nice side benefit.
 
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